Have you ever spent the day chasing the sun? Not the type of chase where you’re just avoiding shady spots down the beach, I mean truly chasing the sun. Watching it rise in the east and set in the west. Well if you haven’t, just travel from Sydney to Busselton. Courtesy of JetStar and Tourism Western Australia, I woke up with the sun over the ocean and went to bed with the sun over the ocean. Quite a unique experience for an East Coast girl who’s never been West.

I spent four days in WA, chasing swells and watching the world’s best surfers whilst sampling some of WA’s finest delights. From surfing, to wine, Indigenous tours and hikes along the Western Australia coastline, you can squueze a lot into four days without ever feeling rushed.  

“West is Best ” three words that so easily sum up the west coast surf breaks. I was honestly in awe of the incredible set-ups the west coast offers. A particular favourite was ‘Lefty’s’, a short slabby left that bends back towards you, which in my opinion is the best type of wave. I do owe it to my friends Ruby Berry and Willow Hardy who very kindly blocked a few waves out there for me. It’s a small, singular take off spot so if jockeying for pole position isn’t your preference, there’s about eight lefts and rights along the one stretch of coast, most as little as 200m apart from one another.

This particular day I was lucky enough to surf and shoot with one of the finest lensman in surf photography, Russell Ord, who I would now call a friend. Our surfing shoot was followed by scrumptious brekkie muffins and a tour of Russell’s gallery (which was surrounded by wine fields by the way). This was one of those mornings I was constantly asking myself… “is this really happening?”

Russell Ords’ gallery was in fact the highlight of my trip. I’m always curious to know what it’s like to see the world through someone else’s eyes, and Russell’s gallery invited me to do just that. Once inside, his images take full command of your attention. Gazing at his photos  is kind of like rewatching your favourite movie, where you always notice something else the next time you view it. Returning to Russell’s imagery, everywhere you look there is more beauty and detail to be absorbed by. For someone like myself, who is looking to master their craft, it’s people like Russell who help keep me motivated. Russ gifted me a memento of a film photo from the 80s, featuring the break I’d surfed that morning. However, the real memento was him leaving me feeling inspired and in some ways ‘real’. 

From surf galleries we segued to wine, because in WA it would be rude not to. It came to my attention pretty early on that many people refer to wine as a drink for a more mature pallet… Considering the amount of wine I drank while out West, you could now call me mature!

Just kidding, but I definitely did enjoy some seriously good wine. Our visit to Fraser Gallop marked my first ever wine tour. When most people think of a wine tour, they probably immediately picture themselves strolling through the vineyards and sampling  a few different drops… Well think again, as Fraser Gallop will go above and beyond. The private wine tour of their estate and its vineyard is conducted on an electric buggy. The in depth tour, which traverses  50 acres of wine land  can leave one feeling quite parched. Good thing they have gorgeous surprise picnic spots set up for you to try some produce from the exact vineyard you just drove through. Take the first wine stop for example, a picnic chair and table set up under an old willow tree, sipping sauvignon blanc looking out onto fields of Pinot Noir… I mean come on, does it get any classier than that?

It was at this point in the trip I was telling myself, “I could get use to this”.

After navigating our way through three more wine stops we were met at the finish line with a charcuterie board in the cellar. This was when I became a self proclaimed sommelier.

Very mature, I know.

I’ve never been much of a wine drinker but after witnessing the love and passion Fraser Gallop has for their wine making process, my love and appreciation for viniculture (and drinking wine ) has grown immensely.

I learnt very quickly that Western Australia and in more particular the Margaret River region are very involved and knowledgeable about their community and Aboriginal heritage. They are extremely intune with our country’s cultural heritage and this theme of respect permeates the region.

An impeccable example of a fantastic Indigenous-themed initiative is the Ngilgi Cave tour with Koomal Dreaming. It was here we moved away from the tangible things of wine and food and entered into the realm of the spiritual.  Our guide, Josh ‘Koomal’ Whiteland, took us on a walk through Wardandi and Bubbulman country, connecting us to an ancient history of the land. With no videos allowed, this was an experience I could really tune into. Josh taught us about the healing properties of the land along with the signs and signals of seasons changing, rain incoming and what is expected for the year and how it can all be witnessed through nature. 

I’ve never quite felt so connected to the land as I did here. Before entering the cave, Josh took us to four mosaic artworks made by his grandma, depicting the story of Ngilgi through dreamtime. A story that beautifully encapsulates a battle between good and evil. Ngilgi, the ocean spirit, had to defeat the bad spirit of the cave, Wolgine, through storm and nature. In honour of the dreamtime triumph, the cave was  named ‘Ngilgi’s nurilem mia’ (Ngilgi’s cave house). A story so enchanting that it left us with goosebumps for the first time.

Nothing could have prepared us for the underworld we then entered. An entire ecosystem survives underground, from crystal formations to sediments and more . Here we lay on the base of the cave (the amphitheatre) where Josh played a song on the didgeridoo, for Ngilgi, for the country and for us. An instant trigger for goosebumps round two.

Without trying to sound like an itineray planner, this is an absolute MUST experience if you ever head to WA.

Three days flew by, jam packed with surfing, wineries, food and adventure. To wrap up the trip we sampled the Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin experience (CTC). In full, the CTC is 124 km along the south west corner of Australia, covering ancient, wild and breathtaking landscapes. We started our journey around the 60km mark where we were met by our guide, and a good friend of mine, Gene Hardy. I’ve spent the last 3-4 years travelling the world with Gene and his daughter Willow, chasing the QS, so it was a happy shock to see Gene show up as the person leading the tour.  

We spent the better part of two hours hiking along the track, learning about the land we were standing on. We reached our half way mark at the ‘aquarium’ a natural pool formed from granite. Perfectly protected by the wind we stopped here for a swim, rock jump and frolic through the Indian ocean. Red sand, green trees and blue skies for miles. I think I may have annoyed the group with the amount of times I said “this is amazing” or “would you look at that ” haha apologies.

I had four days to fall in love with WA but in all honesty, it took about four hours. As the trip came to a close I was already in talks with people, trying to figure out how I could come back West ASAP. I left feeling more connected to the land, myself and my goals than ever before. Picking up a few skills or two in the wine tasting category, I’ll obviously have to keep them up to scratch back home, it’d only be rude not to…

So if you ever hear the term “West is best”, I can wholeheartedly say I completely agree. Until the next adventure WA, Thank you.

Thanks to Jetstar for flying us direct from Sydney to Busselton.  With regular weekly flights there is no excuse to not to hit Margret River for a long weekend surf escape or maybe a week or two.

Thanks to the Hilton Garden Inn Busselton for the superbly comfy beds and the team at WA Tourism for looking after us.